Washtub attachment.



W. J. MINNS. WASHTUB ATTACHMENT. APPLIUATION FILED SEP'IJZfi, 1907.

Patented Apr. 25,1911.

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IINVEI'NYTOB- v W. J. MINNS WASHTUB ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1907. I 99Q,370 Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

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I W. J. MINNS.

WASHTUB ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25, 1907.

Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

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E m m 1? INVENTOI? A TTOBNEYS 1 STTES .ATN FFC WALTER J. MINNS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A SSIGNOR TO SlAGESAVING APPLIANCE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WASI-ITUB ATTACHMENT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER J. INNS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVashtub Attachments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates more particularly to an attachment for dividing a washtub or other receptacle transversely thereof into independent compartments.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple and eiiicient device or attachment, which is complete in itself and independent of the receptacle, and which may be separately sold and readily applied to washtubs or the like whether made of wood, porcelain, slate, iron, cement, granite, soapstone or any other material, without changing the receptacle in any way whatever except so far as is necessary to hold the device within the receptacle; which device may be readily detached from the receptacle as a whole or as to certain parts thereof; which makes the receptacle thoroughly sanitary so that the parts may be readily cleaned, thereby avoiding the collection of waste and other objectionable matter, and which is so constructed that the gate serving to divide the receptacle into compartments may be made to form a perfect sealing and watertight contact.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple, effective and inexpensive device which has a gate and means operatively connected therewith and supported on the device whereby the gate may be made to form separate and independent watertight compartments within the receptacle in such a way that said gate and its fasten ing means may be moved out of the way or entirely removed to adapt the receptacle either as a bath or as a washtub having in dependent compartments as occasion may require.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and will then be pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a fragmen- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application .filed September 25, 1907.

Patented Apr. 25, 1911.

Serial No. 394,485.

tary plan of a washtub or other receptacle with one form of device embodying my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line IIII of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the several parts shown in Fig. 2 separated so as to more clearly illustrate the removable feature of the same. Fig. 1 is a detail section taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of a part of the means for forcing the door or gate against the frame. Fig. 6 is a plan of a different form of means for holding the gate or door in sealing contact with the attachable frame. Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken on the line VIIVII of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a vertical section, somewhat enlarged, taken on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a detail elevation, partly broken away, of a gate having a different movement relatively to the frame from that shown in the other figures; and Figs. 10 to 12 are other views of the device shown in Fig. 9.

The receptacle 10 may indicate a washtub or other vessel, and may be of any suitable material, and of the usual or of any desired form. A device or attachment 11 is adapted to be held intermediate the ends of the receptacle so as to divide the latter into separate and independent compartments, said receptacle having suitable discharge and drainage means for the compartments. This attachment or device, Figs. 1 to 5, has a skeleton frame 12 which may be readily attached to the inner surface of the receptacle 10, and may be held thereto by means of screws or bolts 13 which pass through openings in the frame and other openings in the receptacle, there being a cement or other means if necessary provided between the abutting faces of the frame and the receptacle to form a suitable joint. as shown the frame 12 comprises a single bar having two upright walls or members 15 and 16 and a horizontal portion or base 17 to fit the bottom of the receptacle, and said frame is substantially U-shaped and conforms to the shape of the inner surface of the receptacle. The frame 12 has its vertical member 15 substantially L-shaped, to provide an extended bearing surface, and has bosses or lugs 18 to which the door or gate 19 is pivoted. The gate 19 has hinges 20 provided with pintles or rods 21, which fit apertures in the lugs. or bosses 18 so that the llfi said gate may swing horizontally to one side of the receptacle lengthwise thereof when the receptacle is to be used as a bath tub, and the said gate swung transversely of the receptacle to divide the latter into independent compartments for use as a washtub, though it will be seen that the gate may be entirely removed by lifting it away from the lugs 18.

The gate 19 has its upper edge cut away, as at 22, so as to permit the gate to swing or be removed without interfering with the faucet or water-supply fitting 23, and said cut-away portion of the gate serves to limit the movement of the movable member 24 of the hot and cold water fitting, whereby either hot or cold water may be supplied to either compartment, and said cut-away portion serves also as overflow from one com.- partment to the other. The gate 1.9 need not be of the depth shown in proportion to the depth of the receptacle, but the part 24 is intended to prevent the water splashing from one compartment into the other.

To hold the gate against the frame 12 and to form a water-tight connection or joint between said frame and the gate, I provide the inner face thereof with a rubber or yielding packing 25, which is adapted to engage the face of the frame and form a seal therewith when the gate is in a locked position. This packing or gasket- 25 is tubular and is clamped within a recess 26 formed in the face of the gate 19 between the clamping flanges 27 and 28. The clamping flanges form substantially a bead around the inner face of the gate and rigidly hold the packing in place, and by reason of the packing being tubular, it may be quickly and readily removed from the recess and other packing placed in its stead, said packing extending around the edge of the gate throughout its entire engaging surface with the frame 12. The gate may have a boss 29 at any suitable point thereon, and from this boss projects a pin or bolt 30. A bar or latch 31 has one end slotted, at 32, to span the shank of the bolt 30, and its other end adapted to engage the inner inclined face of a lug or projection 33 carried by the member 16 of the skeleton frame 12, so that when the latch 31 is forced downward along the inclined surface the gate will be forced bodily toward the face of said frame and form a seal therewith. The bar 31 is provided with a projecting part or handle 34, and is normally movable on the gate in a guide 35. By this means a perfect seal and water-tight joint is obtained, and by making latch 31 removable, as well as the other parts of the device, the interior of the res ceptacle is made thoroughly sanitary, and may be readily cleaned in every part so as to avoid the collection of any foreign mat.- ter or Waste therein.

In the attachment 11 shown in Figs. 6 to 8, the frame 12 and receptacle may be substantially the same as already described. The gate 19 in this case, instead of being hinged to the frame, is bodily movable toward one face thereof. To secure this the gate is provided at a convenient point thereof with a bolt 37, and this bolt passes through an aperture 38 in a transverse bar 39, and on the end of said bolt and engaging the screw-threaded end thereof is a nut 40. This nutis provided with an enlarged handle to adapt it to be readily rotated by hand, and as the nut is forced against the bar 39, the gate with its packing will be forced horizontally and bodily against the face of the frame 12. The bar 39 may be of any form and is removably held in slots 41 in the skeleton frame 12 to permit the gate to be removed from the receptacle for the purpose of using it as a bath or for any other purpose.

In Figs. 9 to 12, the gate 42 is adapted to move vertically in the frame 43. This gate 42 may be of any suitable form, and is provided with a groove 44 along its vertical and lower edges formed by the flanges 45 and 46 of said gate. In the groove 44 is a tubular or other packing 47, which extends around the edges of the gate and is fastened securely to the upper edge thereof, as by bending the ends and fastening them with a piece of wire to the gate. The packing 47 is cylindrical in cross-section and is adapted to fit a groove 48 in the frame 43, and said frame as well as the gate has its vertically disposed parts inclined, so that the gate when forced downward will act as a wedge, and will form a perfect and effective seal between the gate and the frame. The gate 43 has centrally -thereof a portion 49, which is adapted to be engaged by the end of a bolt or screw 50. This screw 50 has a handle 51 to rotate the screw, and said screw may have an enlarged lower end which fits into cleats 52 arranged in such a way that the screw may be readily disengaged from the gate by reason of the opening formed by the clips, yet permits the screw to raise and lower the latter when in the position shown in Fig. 10. This screw or bolt has its threaded portion passing through a transverse bar 53, one end of which fits into an aperture 54 in one member of the frame, and a slot 55 in the other member, so that said bar is removably held to the frame. This transverse bar, as well as the other bars referred to may be of pipe or of any suitable form, and is arranged a proper distance from the upper edge of the gate to permit the latter to be raised and lowered by the screw 50. As will be seen when the screw is operated a like movement will be given to the gate and when the latter is forced downward into locking engagement with the frame an effective and water-tight seal is thereby obtained.

The construction'shown in Figs. 9 to 12 is not specifically claimed herein, as such forms a part of a separate application, Serial No. 394,486, filed Sept. 25, 1907; nor is the construction shown in Figs. 6 to 8 claimed specifically in this application as such construction forms a part of a separate application, Serial No. 394,487, filed Sept. 25, 1907.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a simple, eflicient and independent attachment or device which is complete in. itself and which may be sold separately may be readily placed in a washtub, bath-tub, or the like so as to form independent compartments therein is provided; that said device provides a ready means for securing a positive and effective seal or joint between the parts to form the compartments; that said device may be applied to various forms of washtubs or receptacles without altering their general construction as it is only necessary to make the skeleton frame to conform to the shape of the inner surface of the receptacle; that the device as a whole or certain parts thereof may be readily removed from the receptacle, and the parts if injured or for other reasons replaced if necessary; and that said device is thoroughly sanitary in its arrangement and construction, as it is of such a nature that the parts and the receptacle may be readily cleaned to prevent the collection of waste therein.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to. secure by Letters Patent 1. A device of the character described, comprising a supporting frame having an exterior shape to snugly fit the interior of the receptacle and formed of a single substantially U-shaped bar having a base and two integral upright members and adapted to be attached to a receptacle within the same, lugs carried by the frame, a gate provided with hinges removably held by the lugs-so as to swing with the latter as a pivot, a detachable packing held to the inner face of the gate and adapted to engage the frame and form a seal therein, and means cooperating with the frame for positively forcing the gate into sealing engagement with the frame, said frame being provided with means for securing the gate thereto.

2. A. device adapted to be attached to a receptacle to form independent compartments therein, comprising a supporting frame, having an exterior shape to snugly fit the interior of the receptacle and consisting of a single bar having integral upturned ends, a gate hinged to the frame at one edge thereof, a guide on the gate, a bolt projecting from the gate, a. latch removably held to the bolt and movable along the guide, and a projection having an inclined surface carried by the frame against which the latch is adapted to move and thereby force the gate into sealing engagement with the frame.

This specification signed and witnessed this 21st day of September A. D. 1907.

WALTER J MINNS.

lVitnesses M. TURNER, E. D. ELLIs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

